Method of making alpha can



Nov. 22, 1932. H. SEBELL METHOD OF MAKING A CAN Filed March 13. 1930.luuem'oa.

T H .w M a BM V/ T m m 6 Patented Nov. 22, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENTOFFICE HARRY SEBELL, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR 01E ONE-HALF '10ARTHUZR H.

PARKER, OF LEXINGTON, MASSACHUSETTS METHOD OF MAKING A CAN Applicationfiled March 13, 1930. Serial No. 435,398.

This invention relates to a method of making a can body with a lock seamjoint and has for its object to provide a novel method by which thislook seam can be formed and soldered without injuring in any way anyfinish coating or any lettering or design which may have been applied tothe blank before the latter is formed into the shape of the can body.

Many cans or tin containers in which food products or other materials"are put up and sold have a suitable finish coating, such as lacquer,applied to their exterior and many times the exterior of the can orcontainer will have imprinted thereon some wording or some design. Thisfinish coating and the design or the printed matter is frequentlyapplied to the blank before the latter is shaped into the can body andas the heat required in soldering the lock seam joint is apt to injurethe lacquer finish it is not an uncommon thing to omit the lacquerfinish from the portions of the blank adjacent to the lock seam. Thisresults in a can body in which a vertical band orzone along the seam hasno finish applied thereto thus giving the can an unsightly or partiallyfinished appearance.

My invention provides a novel method of making a can body by which a canbody with a lock seam joint can be made without injuring or disturbingin any way either the finish coating which may have been applied to thecan or any wording or design which may have been imprinted thereon.

In order to give an understanding of the invention I have illustrated inthe drawing a selected embodiment thereof which will now be described,after which the novel features will be pointed out in the appendedclaims.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a view illustrating in full lines a blank of sheet metal fromwhich the can body is made and illustrating in dotted lines the 5 blankshaped into the form of the can body;

Fig. 2 illustrates the manner of soldering the lock seam;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a completed can body with part brokenout;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary view showing the way in which the soldering fluxand material is applied.

The type of can body to which this invention particularly relates isillustrated in Fig. 3, it being a can body having a so-called lock seamat its side. Such can body is formed from a blank of sheet metal whichis bent into a circular shape, said blank being folded at one end toform the hook portion 2 adapted to engage and interlock with anotherbook portion 3 formed on the opposite end of the blank.

The can body is completed by soldering to gether the hook portions tomake a soldered seam.

The blank from which the can body is made is indicated at 4 and thesurface there of which constitutes the outer face of the can may beprovided with some suitable finish coating, such as lacquer or the like,or may have some wording or design printed thereon. This finish coatingand/or printing or design will preferably be applied to the blank whilethe latter is in a flat shape and before it is formed into the shape ofthe can body. The finish coating will be applied to the entire portionof the surface of the blank which is exposed on the outside of the canwhen the can body is made so that when the blank is formed into the canbody the entire surface of the can body will be pro vided with thefinish coat.

At one end the marginal portion of the blank is bent backwardly to formthe hook portion 2 which is located on the side of the lank oppositethat which is to form the outer face of the can body. The marginalportion of the blank at the other end is simiv larly bent into a hookshape 3 with the hook portion on the outer face of the blank. 90

In accordance with my invention the exposed face 5 of the hook portion 2is pro vided with a coating of flux and soldering material 10 indicatedby the stipled shading of Fig. 3. This flux and soldering material maybe applied either before or after the marginal edge of the blank isfolded into the hook formation but preferably after the hook has beenformed as the bending of the end of the-blank into the hook form mightdisturb 1 or injure the soldering material 10 if the latter were appliedbefore the end of the blank was bent into the hook shape. In eitherevent, however, after the blank has been shaped as shown at Fig. l andthe fin); and soldering material has been applied, then said blank isbent into the cylindrical shape of the can body and the two hookportions 2 and 3 are interlocked with each other as shown. When this isdone this brings the face 5 of the hook portion 2 to which the flux andsoldering material 10 has been applied in contact with the inside face 6of the hook portion 3.

\Vhen the can body has been thus formed then a heated element 7 isplaced within the can body in contact with the inner face of the lockseam as shown in Fig. 2 while a cooling or non-heated member 8 is placedin contact with the outside of the can body along the line of the lockseam. The heat of the member 7 fuses the solder material 10 and the lockseam is pressed between the elements 7 and 8 thereby making a tightlysoldered joint.

It is intended that the element 8 shall be maintained in. a coolcondition during this operation in order to prevent the heat generatedduring the soldering operation from unduly heating the outer face of thelock seam. The element 8 may be kept cool in any approved way. It isshown as provided with a chamber 9 through which water or other coolingmedium may be circulated.

WVith this manner of making the can body it is possible to have thefinish coating applied to the portion 11 of the face of the blank whichforms the outer face of the can body and which constitutes the outerface of the lock seam, because the cooling element- 8 will maintain itsouter surface sutliciently cool so that the lacquer or other finish coatwill not be injured by the heat generated during the soldering of theseam.

The above-described method has the further advantage that during thesoldering operation the inner wall of the can is kept entirely free fromany flux or other soldering material. The soldering material is locatedbetween the surfaces 5 and 6 and the interlocking of the hook members 2and 3 prevents any of the flux or soldering material 10 from gettingonto the inner face of the can body.

I claim:

1. The method of making a can body which consists in bending the ends ofthe blank from which the can body is to be made to form hook portions,one of which is located on one side of the blank and the other of whichis located on the other side thereof, applying a soldering flux and asoldering material to the outer face of one hook portion, subsequently,bending the blank into the form of a can body and in so doing giving aconcave curvature to the side of the blank on which the hook portionface carrying the soldering flux and soldering material is located,interlocking the hook portions with the hook portion having thesoldering flux and soldering material on the outside of the other hookportion, whereby the hook portion face carrying the soldering flux andsoldering material is separated from the interior face of the can bodyby a single thickness of metal and from the outer face of the can bodyby three thicknesses of metal, applying sufficient heat to the interiorface of the can along the same to fuse the soldering material andsimultaneously subjecting the outer face of the can body along the seamto a cooling action.

2. The method of making a can body which consists in providing one faceof the blank from which the can body is to be made with a finishcoating, bending the two ends of the blank to form hook portions, one ofwhich is located on the side of the blank carrying the finish coatingand the other of which is on the other side thereof, applying to theouter face of the latter hook portion a flux and soldering material,bending the blank into the form of a can body with the finish coating onthe outside, interlocking the hook portions with the hook portioncarrying the flux and soldering material on the out side of the otherhook portion but with the hook portion face to which the flux and S01-dering material is applied resting against the wall of the can and thusseparated from the inner face of the can body by a single thickness ofmetal, applying suflicient heat to the inner face of the can body alongthe line of the seam to fuse the solder material and simultaneouslysubjecting the outer face of the can body along the line of the seam toa sufficient cooling action to prevent the heat of the solderingoperation from injuring the finish coating but insuflicient to interferewith the soldering operation.

3. The method of making a can body which consists in providing oneentire face of the blank from which the can body is to be made with afinish coating, bending the two ends of the blank to form hook portions,one 0 which is located on the side of the blank carrying the finishcoating and the other of which is on the other side thereof, applying tothe non-coated .face of the latter hook portion a flux and solderingmaterial, bending the blank into the form of a can body and interlockingthe hook portions in such a way that the face of the hook portionearrying the flux and soldering material is separated from thenon-coated face of the can body by a single thickness of metal and isseparated from the coated face by three thicknesses of metal, applyingsufficient heat to the non-coated face of the can body along the line ofthe seam to fuse the soldering material and simultaneously subjectin thecoated face of the can body along the me of the seam to a suflicientcooling action to prevent the heat of the soldering operation frominjurin the finish coating but insuificient to inter ere with thesoldering operation.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification.

HARRY SEBELL.

